On Balancing Diverse Opinions

http://mobile.nytimes6/05/29/opinion/sunday/the-liberal-blind-spot.html

 I was reading this article called "The Liberal Blind Spot" regarding how universities have lately been censoring conservative speakers and,  while I agree that we shouldn't censor opinions that differ from our own, I feel the author misunderstands some of the reasons there is that knee-jerk reaction. He suggests that, like Islamophobia is more common among those who have never met a Muslim, perhaps  bias against Evangelicals is due to not having Evangelical friends. Obviously this person has never been harassed to convert to Christianity. As a Wiccan, I've experienced this many, many times over the last 15 years, with some people becoming quite aggressive about it. I may be minding my own business, silently reading tarot cards or wearing a pentacle necklace that gets their attention.

 Now, I am fascinated by religion and happen to be fairly knowledgeable about Christianity- in fact, more knowledgeable than the last person who wouldn't leave me alone. He admitted he was recently "born again" and had only read part of Genesis out of the whole Bible, and when I tried to engage him in an intellectual conversation with a few poignant questions, he responded that his pastor would know all the answers and I was wrong because only the Christian God was real and good. I decided to end the conversation because it was like trying to debate with Donald Trump- facts didn't matter to him. But he continued to press the issue, aggressively telling me about Satan in child-like terms. When this is a typical experience, it makes sense that people whom the Church has been known to demonize- pagans, LGBTQ folk, and other outsiders- might be concerned about having a conservative speaker on their college campus. It is an awkward situation when a person feels that God wants them to impose their opinions on others, and I have yet to find a graceful method of diffusing those situations.

So the question becomes, how do we strike a balance between allowing all opinions to be heard while making sure no one is unfairly treated? It has been an ongoing process for me to learn how to listen, and I work hard on it, but it's extremely difficult to maintain that presence of mind when the other party seems unwilling to reciprocate. How do we engage those who do not wish to engage us? And what do you do when a core belief of another person is to try and change or subvert an integral part of your being? Ironically, it was Jesus who told us to "Turn the other cheek" when slapped in the face, but who wants to get slapped in the first place?

On Trump's tax returns

Donald Trump loves to boast about how he made over $500 million last year, but also that he pays as little as possible in taxes. While he refuses to release his tax returns, old returns available to the public show that he paid $0 in taxes those years. We can assume he continues the same tactics and still pays no taxes. This should be a very concerning thing to those of us who struggle to get by and still pay a good chunk of our hard-earned paychecks to Uncle Sam.

By my estimation, Trump should be paying about $175 million in taxes for last year, without considering any deductions of which he takes advantage. At least, that's what an average person who suddenly won a $500 million lotto would be expected to pay. That's what our tax system says is fair.

But as the favorite pastime of the American wealthy, tax evasion means that the huge financial burden of running the country falls on the working class. Why is it OK for us to struggle to make ends meet while people like him get a free ride? That's not fair play, but the Donald makes it clear he doesn't believe the rules apply to him.

Trump benefits from the taxes WE pay- our nation's infrastructure can't be supported without those taxes, and he looks down on the rest of us as "stupid" for paying those taxes.  America can't be great without income, and his "great business mind" knows this. But his "very good brain" only thinks about helping his own business interests and not the greater economic state, which is ironic- he can't make money of people who don't have any. The mindset he espouses is directly responsible for the recession of which we're clawing our way out (and from which he personally benefitted, i.e., he made money when you lost your home). But rather than using his "very good brain" to solve the economic crisis for the good of the many, to recognize that his contribution to the shared struggle of America could be far more impactful than 1,000 people with my wages, he still strives to leave us high and dry when the tax collector calls for contributions to the true Greatness of America.

It shocks me that so many are willing to support a man who so gleefully rapes our economic system, who openly says he will change or ignore any rules he doesn't like... How can we trust such a man to be a wise and benevolent leader? To put all our fates in those money-grubbing hands and expect him to help the people on whose backs he stands? This is a very dangerous possibility, and we would be fools to allow it.